Alas is a town in Alas Administrative Post,

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

. It is located in the interior of the island, 294 metres above sea level. As the crow flies, Alas is 56 km southeast of the state capital

Dili Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...

and 7 km to the east of Same.UNMIT-map of Manufahi, August 2008
(PDF; 523 kB)

History

Pre-colonial and Portuguese Timor

Alas was one of the traditional kingdoms of Timor, ruled by a

Liurai Liurai is a ruler's title on Timor. The word is Tetum language, Tetun and literally means "surpassing the earth". It was originally associated with Wehali, a ritually central kingdom situated at the south coast of central Timor (now included in I ...

. Alas appears in a list of 47 territories governed by a former Governor of

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor () was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day East Timor from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the regio ...

, Afonso de Castro in 1868. In 1700, the Liurai of Alas was converted to Christianity by a

Dominican friar The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius ...

Manuel de Santo António.Artur Teodoro de Matos: ''D. Frei Manuel de Santo António: missionário e primeiro bispo residente em Timor. Elementos para a sua biografia (1660-1733)''
(in Portuguese) In 1761 to 1762, Dom José, the Liurai of Alas was a member of the governing council which took over the running of Portuguese Timor following the expulsion and death of Governor Sebastião de Azevedo e Brito. During the Cová rebellion (1868–1871), Alas sent troops to support the Portuguese colonial authorities. However, during the Manufahi rebellion (1911–1912), Alas sided with the rebels.History of Timor – Technical University of Lisbon
(PDF; 824 kB)

1975 civil war

During the 1975 civil war, supporters of the UDT and the

FRETILIN The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (, abbreviated as Fretilin) is a separatist organization turned centre-left political party in Timor-Leste. It presently holds 19 of 65 seats in the National Parliament. Fretilin formed the ...

movement, who had previously been in coalition, were involved in numerous altercations. On 27 August 1975, prompted by news that FRETILIN supporters were approaching the area, eleven prisoners belonging to either FRETILIN or its youth wing UNETIM were brought from Same to the beach at Meti Oan in suco of Mahaquidan and killed. Among the victims was the president of UNETIM, Domingos Lobato, brother of

Nicolau Nicolau is a Portuguese and Catalan given name, a variant of Nicholas. Nicolau may refer to: *Nicolau Coelho, Portuguese explorer * Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (1946–1978), East-Timorese politician * Nicolau Tolentino de Almeida (1740–1811), P ...

and Rogerio Lobato."Chapter 7.2 Unlawful Killings and Enforced Disappearances"
(PDF; 2,5 MB) from the "Chega!"-Report produced by the

Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (more commonly known by its Portuguese acronym CAVR: ) was an independent truth commission established in East Timor in 2001 under the UN Transitional Administration in East T ...

Indonesian invasion and occupation

Following the Indonesian invasion in December 1975, Alas was one of the areas to which the

FALINTIL The Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor (, Falintil) originally began as the military wing of the Fretilin party of East Timor. It was established on 20 August 1975 in response to Fretilin's political conflict with the Tim ...

resistance movement retreated, and the location of the South-Central Resistance Base (''Base de Apoio Centro Sul''). This base initially sheltered refugees from

Manatuto Manatuto is a city in Manatuto Municipality, East Timor. Manatuto Vila has 3,692 inhabitants (Census 2015) and is capital of the subdistrict and district Manatuto. It is on the north coast of Timor, (about as the crow flies) east of Dili ...

, Same, Dili,

Liquiçá Liquiçá (Tetum: ''Likisá'') is a coastal city in East Timor, 32 km to the west of Dili, the national capital. Liquiçá is the capital of Liquiçá District. The city has a population of 5,005 inhabitants. History A part of the colon ...

Ermera Ermera (''Vila Ermera'') is a city in East Timor and a former capital of the East Timorese community, Ermera. ''Ermera'' in Mambai language (Timor), Mambai means "red water." It has a population of 8,907. Its geographical coordinates are , ...

Aileu Aileu is the main township in Aileu District, East Timor. It is located 47 km (29 mi) southwest of Dili, the national capital, and had a population of 2,788 in 2015. In Portuguese Timor, the city was known as Vila General Carmona ...

, and Ainaro, and in 1978 also received refugees from Turiscai. In August 1978, the base was attacked by Indonesian forces. During the three-month siege which followed, many civilians were killed or died of hunger and thousands of East Timorese surrendered or were taken prisoner. Prisoners from Alas, as well as those from other regions such as Same, Fatuberlio, Turiscai,

Maubisse Maubisse (''Maubesse, Mau-Bessi, Maobisse, Maubise'') is a historic town in the hills 70 km south of Dili, in Ainaro Municipality, East Timor. It is a popular tourist destination and a weekend visiting spot for people from the capital. T ...

, Soibada, and Natarbora, were interned in military camps in Selihassan or Same, or taken to temporary camps near Alas town: Uma Metan ("Black House"), 400 metres south of Alas town; or ''Lebos'', 2 km to the Southwest. A further "settlement camp" was located in Besusu (suco of Uma Berloic). At one point, 8,000 people were interned in Uma Metan. Prisoners were given only a small can of maize each week, and were forbidden to leave the camp to seek more food or tend gardens. The nearest water source was 500 metres away. Witnesses allege that five or six people died daily from starvation. Illnesses such as

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

beri-beri Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase (bæri bæri, “I canno ...

and

diarrhoea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

were rife, and there was no medical care. Executions of those involved in the resistance were also common. On the orders of their captors, the prisoners built a village hall and a school, where they were to be taught the

Indonesian language Indonesian (; ) is the official language, official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standard language, standardized variety (linguistics), variety of Malay language, Malay, an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that has ...

. In reality however, the "pupils" of this school were young female prisoners, and the school quickly became the site of mass rape by army personnel. Residents of the area allege that around 2,000 people were buried in mass graves near Uma Metan."Chapter 7.3 Forced Displacement and Famine"
(PDF; 1,3 MB) from the "Chega!"-Report produced by the

The Uma Metan and Lebos camps were important military bases for the Indonesian forces fighting resistance supporters in the mountains of Manufahi. Among others, units from the 700 Land-Air Battalion, the 745 and 310 Battalions and ''Kopassandha'' special forces unit were stationed here. Alas was also the headquarters for the ''Koramil'' sub-district territorial command and the Hansip civil defence force. In 1979, areas previously not occupied by the Indonesian forces came under attack. Residents of these areas fled to

Sarin Sarin (NATO designation GB nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic organophosphorus compound. In 1981, the inhabitants of Bubussuso and Fahinehan were forcibly resettled in Dotik after they were suspected of supplying

resistance fighters with food. Between 1970 and 1980, the number of inhabitants in the Alas sank by 29%, falling from 5,034 to 3,574.

Violence following East Timor Special Autonomy Referendum

A referendum held on 20 August 1998 was met with overwhelming support (78.5% in favour) for independence, and followed by an explosion of violence between pro-independence militias and Indonesian armed forces. On 9 November 1998, fighters from the FALINTIL movement killed three Indonesian soldiers and captured a further 13, 11 of whom were later released. Nine FALINTIL militants were also killed in the attack. The following day, the Indonesian armed forces began retaliatory operations throughout the sub district of Alas. On 13 November, Indonesian soldiers entered the ''suco'' of Taitudac and took the village chief, Vicente Xavier, and four others prisoner. They were taken to Barique and executed. At the time, the Commander of the Indonesian army in East Timor alleged that Xavier had been the brains behind the FALINTIL attack on 9 November. On 15 November, Indonesian troops entered the village of Turin, and again attacked Taitudac. Two of Xavier's nieces, both teenagers, were arrested and taken to the district military headquarters in Same where they were kept in solitary confinement. On 16 November, a further 11 people were arrested in

Kopassus The Kopassus (, Special Forces Command) is an Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) special forces group that conducts special operations missions for the Indonesian government, such as Direct action (military), direct action, unconventional warfare, sabot ...

, in the ‘'sucos'’ of Taittudac and Betano. Houses in Aituha were also razed. Many of the people in the affected villages sought sanctuary in church buildings. Those who stayed behind were faced with food and water shortages, as the Indonesian troops had destroyed the water pipelines. In total, around 50 people were executed and a further 30 imprisoned during the operations. This information could be disputed from independent investigation.Millen, Colonel Brian: Visit to East Timor (Bourne, Sen Vicki, Newman, Sen Jocelyn)
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References

{{Reflist

External links

Populated places in Timor-Leste Manufahi Municipality